Hello all I'm building a 27 T-Bucket. I have a 79 500ci caddy to drop in it. its a front wheel drive. Any suggestions on what transmission's i could use to make it work in my Bucket. I am very limited cash wise. A wife and four wonderful kids put my toys on the back burner. Thank you for any help . Chuck.....
As far as I know, just about any Turbo 400 trans with the B.O.P. bellhousing (BuickOldsPontiac- not Chevy) pattern will fit right on. At the junkyard you should be able to find a TH400 in a big Buick, Olds, RWD Cad, etc from almost any car from the 70's. Make sure it isn't the lighter-duty TH350 from a small V8. Maybe someone else might correct me, but I am about 95% sure that the only difference in your engine from the regular rear wheel drive Cad is the oil pan and the transaxle. Just bolt on a RWD trans and use it.
Actually I'm going to disagree a little here. With the torque of that Caddy and the light Bucket I would use a powerglide. Don't worry they are plenty strong. they have a higher low gear ,but with that motor would be fine. They are smaller ,cheaper to rebuild ,hands down better than the 400 in my book. Now the powerglides were chebby pattern but heres a tip . Gm engines share the same dowel pin to crank dimensions ( not real early ones)and the spacing for the convertor is correct also.only some of the bolts are different. Most auto parts stores can sell you and adapter for 20 or 25 bucks. The two speed BOP trans were called Jet a way , I think ,and would work well also,just a little harder to find,if not then a 200 r4 with overdrive. Best of luck.
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